Question Corner

Question Corner:

This week I worked out at the front desk longer than usual so I got to hear some of the questions that we are getting asked on a daily basis.  This week 2 of them really stuck out so I thought I would highlight them here.

1.  How do I forward my student email to my cell phone?

Every cell phone is a little different, but all of them have Settings and then your Account Information.  You are going to want to:

·         Add Account:  Pick Microsoft Exchange or ActiveSync

·         Email address or User name: Your full TCC email address, for example; JDoe65405@student.tacomacc.edu

·         Your password: The same password you use for the portal

·         Server name:  outlook.com

IF your phone does not have Microsoft Exchange you can use IMAP e-mail server settings.

IMAP4 Server:

Server name: pod51004.outlook.com

Port: 993

SSL turned on

Your SMPT/Outgoing server name will be:

Name: Pod51004.outlook.com

Port: 587

SSL turned on

2. In the portal my tabs are blank, I think the Portal is down.

 

No, the Portal is not down.  More than likely you are using Internet Explorer and the image is not refreshing when you click on a link or tab.  It only seems to be an issue with Internet Explorer.  All you have to do is press F5 on the keyboard to refresh the screen or in the address bar click the refresh icon and you will then see tabs again.

The solution that we suggest is that you use Mozilla Firefox for all of your browsing needs here on campus and at home.  This is free software you can download and we feel that it works faster and is much more compatible with Angel and Canvas.  Another Browser that we really like is Google Chrome. 

With both Chrome and Firefox, we are not seeing the refresh issue. 

If you have any questions regarding these browsers or how to set up your email, you can call the Help Desk at 253)566-5176 or send us an email at eLearning@tacomacc.edu. 

Shannon

Skype on Steriods

Have you ever used Skype?  Have you ever wanted to chat with more than one person without paying their monthly subscription fee?  Google Hangouts is your answer.  It's like Skype, except you can video chat with up to 10 people for free.  It's like Skype on steroids and has more features.

If you ever need to work on a group project for class, Google Hangouts is a simple and fun way to get together remotely and work on a project.  You can also Hangout while collaboratively editing a paper or presentation in Google Docs.   If you are interested in Google Docs, you can check out this blog post on it.

Google Hangouts is also available on your mobile phone.  Using the Google+ app, you can both start and join a "Hangout", which can be a mix of people on their phones or Mac, Windows, or Linux computers.  You can download the free Google+ app for your iPhone here and your Android phone here.

One of my favorite features is that during the hangout, the most prominent web cam even automatically switches based on who is talking.  Go ahead and try it!  If you've ever used Google Hangouts before to work on group projects, please leave a comment and let us know about your experience.

Canvas Mobile: The iOS App

You can download the Canvas App for free in the iTunes store:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/canvas-for-ios/id480883488?mt=8

If you need any assistance with the Canvas App just stop by the Information Commons in Building 16.

Question Corner

The Common question of the week:

In the Information Commons we get a lot of questions throughout the day.  I through I would highlight one or two that typically are difficult to find the answer to.

1.  How can I print wirelessly from my laptop here at the school?

We have a guide that will walk you through this process on the Learning Network Support Quick Link.  Just click on the link and at the top of the page you will see a Search bar.  If you do a search for “wireless printing” the first result will be “How can I wirelessly print from my personal computer?” 

The guide will take you through two ways to find the drivers that you can download to your laptop so you can print right from your laptop to one of the printers here on campus. 

2.  My campus email keeps asking for a password, what is it?

If you have been a student here in the past you know that you never hand to enter a user name and password to get to your email.  What changed?  We have moved the hosting of our email from servers here on campus to the Microsoft Cloud.  Because of this students and faculty will be required to log in with their user name and password. 

Your user name is your full TCC email address as follows:

JDoe32105@student.tacomacc.edu  (Note the addition of the word student)

The password will be your Portal password

If you have any questions, you can always give the Information Commons a call and we will be more than happy to walk you through any questions you have.

(253)566-5176

Shannon

Free alternative to Microsoft Office - LibreOffice

Do you want Microsoft Office, but don't want to spend $149 to get it?  There are lots of free alternatives out there.  You could use Google Docs (as I explain in my last blog post), but if web-based tools aren't your cup of tea, then you can try out LibreOffice.  LibreOffice is just like the full Microsoft Office suite, except it's free.

Here is a list of LibreOffice applications and their Microsoft Office equivalents:

• Writer - Microsoft Word
• Calc - Microsoft Excel
• Impress - Microsoft PowerPoint
• Draw - Microsoft Visio
• Math - None. It's its own application that you can use to create mathematical, chemical, electrical, and other types of equations.
• Base - Microsoft Access

Here is an article that provides further details on the breakdown between Microsoft Office and LibreOffice.  

Should I use OpenOffice?

Now, you may have also heard of OpenOffice as another alternative to Microsoft Office.  OpenOffice is definitely another viable alternative.  In many ways, LibreOffice and OpenOffice are the same, but I would recommend using LibreOffice.  OpenOffice lags behind in features to LibreOffice. OpenOffice was originally a project of Sun Microsystems, but when Oracle bought Sun Microsystems, 33 developers of OpenOffice left for LibreOffice and last year Oracle gave OpenOffice to the Apache Foundation.  Since then, the Apache Foundation has been playing catch up to LibreOffice.  

Instructor wants a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document - just use Save As
If you are worried that your instructors won't be able to open up your LibreOffice document, don't worry, there is a solution for that.  You can save your documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in Microsoft Office formats by just clicking Save As and then choosing Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.  Do remember that by default, documents save in LibreOffice format, so most of your instructors won't be able to open the documents unless you save them in a Microsoft Office format.  For example, if you go to turn in a .oxt file, your instructor will probably let you know they can't open it and you can just click File > Save As >  for file type choose Microsoft Office Word and then turn in the .docx file you just created.

Do you have another alternative to Microsoft Office that you use?  If so, please leave a comment with what you use.